Lamp holder and ejector



March 8, 1955 s. A. HARADEN LAMP HOLDER AND EJECTOR INVENTOR. George A. Huroden BY 2 Sheets-Sheet l Filed May 12, 1949 ATTORNEYS March 8, 1955 G. A. HARADEN 2,703,369

LAMP HOLDER AND EJECTOR Filed May 12, 1949 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 JNVENTOR. George A. Huroden ATTORNEYS United States Patent LAMP HOLDER AND EJECTOR George A. Haraden, Denver, Colo., assignor, by mesne assignments, to Minneapolis-Honeywell Regulator Company, Minneapolis, Minn., a corporation of Delaware Application May 12, 1949, Serial No. 92,892

7 Claims. (Cl. 339-45) This invention relates to improvements in means for holding a member such as a lamp and ejecting it from the holding means.

One of the objects of the invention is to produce an improved socket for the mounting of a light bulb or lamp which will firmly hold the bulb, yet permit it to be quickly ejected by a simple and easily operable mechanism.

Another object of my invention is to produce an improved spring means for firmly retaining a light bulb or lamp in a socket and yet permitting its removal by a minimum force.

A further object is to produce improved means for holding a light bulb or lamp in a socket, together with improved means for permitting the bulb to be easily gnilb quickly ejected without screwing movement of the Yet a further object is to produce improved spring means for holding a light bulb in a socket which will accomplish firm holding regardless of varying dimensions of the bulb base and also without any interlocking action on threads of the bulb base if provided therewith.

A still further object is to so construct a coiled spring means and mount it in an annular position that it will firmly hold a cylinder-like or annular member by forces resulting from displacement of sides of individual loops of the spring from their normal position.

A further object is to provide means for holding a light bulb in a socket by an annularly positioned coiled member having a special construction which will cause the bulb base to be gripped in a stable manner.

A further object is to so construct and embody a coiled spring in an annular position in a lamp socket that a bulb can be held firmly therein by displacement of sides of individual coil loops.

Yet another object is to produce improved mechanism for quickly and easily ejecting a light bulb or lamp from a socket in which its base'is maintained by holding means permitting movement of the base by an axially acting force.

A further object of the invention is to provide means whereby a lamp may be ejected longitudinally from a battery case by a force or motion originating in a transverse direction. By ejection longitudinally is meant in a direction which will be in or parallel to the long axis of the battery case, and by a force or motion originating in a transverse direction is meant one acting at right angles to the long axis of the battery case.

A more specific object of the invention is to produce an improved holding and ejecting means for the flash bulb of a photo-flash apparatus used in photography which will be efficient in operation, economical to manufacture, conveniently manipulated to accomplish bulb ejection and capable of a long life free from repair.

Other objects of my invention will become apparent from the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawings in which:

Figure 1 is a view of a flash-gun of photo-flash synchronizers associated with cameras, said flash-gun having therein a flash bulb holder and ejecting means embodying my invention;

Figure 2 is a longitudinal section view through the upper part of the flash-gun of Figure 1 showing details of the bulb holder and ejecting means;

Figure 3 is a sectional view taken on the line 3-3 of Figure 2 showing further details of the ejecting means;

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Figure 4 is a top view of the bulb holding socket of the flash-gun, parts being broken away;

Figure 5 is a cross sectional view of the bulb holding sockets as taken on the line 5-5 of Figure 2; and

Figure 6 is a sectional view taken on the line 66 of Figure 2 showing the manner of action of the coiled spring in holding the bulb in the socket.

Referring to the drawings in detail, numeral 10 indicates a cylindrical battery case which is open at its upper end and at its lower end is provided with a screw cap 11 having the usual spring contact for connecting one side of the batteries 12, to be positioned in the case, with the metallic cylindrical casing. The upper end of the battery case is arranged to have embodied therein my improved lamp holding socket, together with the ejecting means for the lamp. The lamp 13, which is to be received in the socket, has associated therewith a reflector 14 suitably attached to the upper end of the battery case. The battery case, the lamp and reflector form a unit which is a part of photo-flash equipment for cameras and said unit is arranged to be detachably mounted on a camera. As shown in Figure l, the camera 15 is indicated on dashed lines and a suitable annular bracket 16 is shown whereby the unit can be mounted at the side of the camera.

The assembly arrangement of my improved socket structure and the ejecting means is shown in Figure 2. As can be seen in this figure, the upper end of the battery case has associated therewith a tubular member 17 which is slightly smaller in diameter than the diameter of the battery case. The upper end of this member 17 is provided with an inturned integral flange 18 to provide a shoulder means and from the inner edge of this flange the tubular member is flared outwardly, as indicated at 19, to provide a bell mouth to facilitate easy entry of a lamp base. Telescoped within the lower part of the tubular member 17 is a cup-shaped member 20 held in member 17 by a sleeve nut 21. At the top of the cup shaped member is a closure ring 22 which provides a second shoulder means axially spaced inwardly from the flange 18 at the outer end of the tubular member 17. Within the closure ring is a closure cup 23 made of insulation material which is secured to a tubular rod 24 arranged to have sliding movement and a conductor post 24. At the center of the closure cup is provided an electrical contact 25 to provide an electrical connection with the base of the lamp.

Below the cup-shaped member 25 there is mounted a switch mechanism 26, the details of which are not shown. This switch mechanism is arranged to electrically connect the batteries 12 with the lamp and complete the circuit to the lamp, a part of said circuit being by way of post 24 and the tubular rod 24 to the contact 25. The switch mechanism, which includes a suitable switch such as a micro-switch, is arranged to be operated by a plunger 27 and in order that this plunger may be operated from the exterior of the casing, there is provided a switch button 23, which switch button is mounted in an insulating block 29 secured to the exterior of the battery casing adjacent its upper end by means of a bolt 30 which, it will be noted, is threaded into the sleeve nut 21 employed to fasten the cup-shaped member 20 to the tubular member 17. Thus, the bolt 30 not only serves to secure the block 29 to the exterior of the casing, but also provides means for holding the tubular member 17 and the cup-shaped member 26 together with all the mechanism carried thereby in the end of the battery case.

In accordance with one important feature of my invention, I provide resilient means for holding the lamp 13 in the tubular member 17 so that the lamp can be placed in the electrical circuit with the bottom terminal of the lamp held in engagement with the contact 25. As shown in Figures 2, 4, 5 and 6, the resilient holding mechanism is in the form of a special coil spring 31. The loops of the coil spring are of a particular formation with spaced straight parallel sides 32 and 33. Each outer side of a loop is connected to an inner side by a curved portion and each inner side is connected to the outer side of an adjacent loop by a curved portion. Thus each loop is somewhat oval in shape with two opposed sides being longer and straight. The spring formed with these loops is mounted in the tubular member 17 between its flange 18 and the shoulder means formed by the closure ring 22. The spring will then be in the form of an annulus extending around the inside of the tubular member 17 with the outer sides 33 of the loops being in engagement with the tubular member and the inner sides 32 of the loops spaced substantially radially inwardly. All of the inner sides of the loops will thus provide a circular opening into which the base 34 of the lamp may be inserted.

The inner and outer sides of each loop are so spaced that when the spring is positioned within the tubular member 17 the cylindrical opening formed by the inner sides of the loops will have a diameter slightly less than the diameter of the lamp base which is to be received so as to establish a resilient gripping action on the base. Between the two sides of the loops of the spring there can be positioned a strap 35 to prevent accidental internal dislocation of the spring when a lamp is not present. When the spring is placed in the tubular member 17 in its annular condition it will tend to expand and normally engage the wall of the tubular member 17. If found necessary to cause the coil spring to maintain its full circular arrangement, the ends of the wire from which the spring is formed may be suitably connected by a tubular clamp 36, as shown in Figure 2, or by welding. If the ends of the spring are to be connected, it may be unnecessary to provide the strap 35.

It will be noted that the lengths of the loops of this coil spring are such that each inner side of a loop is capable of engaging the lamp base to a considerable longitudinal extent. if the lamp base should be provided with threads such as those shown on the lamp illustrated in Figure 2, the inner sides of the loops will then be capable of engaging the outer surfaces of a plurality of threads whenever the lamp is inserted. Thus a good engagement will be available for holding the lamp firmly in the tubular member by the action of the spring and eliminate any wobbling tendency.

With the opening formed by the inner sides of the loops of slightly smaller diameter than the circular lamp base, that is, the diameter of the outer surface of the threads, then when the lamp base is inserted the inner sides of the loop will be pressed towards the outer sides since the outer sides are held against outward movement because of their engagement with the inner wall of the tubular member 17. The movement of the inner sides is permitted by the distortion of the curved ends of the loops. The movement of the inner sides outwardly may be a direct radial movement or the movement may be a combination of radial and lateral or circumferential movements. lf lateral movement is present, the material at the curved ends of the loops will be given a slight twist. Preferably during insertion of the lamp base, the lamp is given a slight rotational movement. This turning of the lamp creates a feeling that the lamp is being firmly gripped. Figure 6 illustrates in dashed lines the condition of the loops of the spring before the lamp base is inserted. This is considered the normal condition or form of the loops since it is their form as constructed and without any forces acting thereon. When the lamp base is inserted, preferably with a slight rotation, as in the direction of the arrow, the inner sides of the coils of the spring will then take the positions shown in full lines. The shifting of the inner sides is accomplished by the twisting of the curved connections between the inner and outer sides of the loops. The result will be that the lamp base will be firmly held by the spring, due to the tcndency of the material of the spring connecting the sides of the loops to untwist and cause the inner sides of the loops to tend to return to their normal radial positions.

The gripping action of the coil spring on the lamp base can be controlled in any desired manner by using different wire material to make the coiled spring, by varying the wire diameter, by the number of loops, and by varying the normal spacing of the inner and outer sides of the loops. Thus it is possible to obtain any gripping action desired from a light grip to a more intense grip. By proper manufacture of the spring, lamp bases having varying sizes because of tolerances will always be firmly gripped.

One of the purposes of providing the resilient holding means for the lamp is to enable the lamp to be ejected from the holding socket in a quick and easy manner. Mechanical ejection is desirable, as then it will be possible to remove the lamp quickly without the necessity of grasping the lamp by hand and removing it. After a photoflash lamp has been ignited it is hot, and thus considerable time and inconvenience would be present if an attempt were made to remove the lamp from the normal screw threaded socket or from any other type of socket. In making photographs it is often desirable to take different shots as rapidly as possible to get all the action possible into the picture. Thus time lost in changing flash bulbs becomes very important.

As best shown in Figures 2 and 3, the ejecting means which I desire to employ comprises a bell crank lever 37 and a plunger 38. The lever is of general U-shaped construction having parallel arms 39 and 40 which are arranged to extend beneath the cup-shaped closure member 23 of insulation material on opposite sides of the rod 24 and to engage the bottom of the cup-shaped closure member. The lever is pivoted by means of a pin 41 to ears 42 and 43 struck out from the lower end of the tubular member 17. The arms 39 and 40 of the lever are connected together by an integral part 44 which forms the base of the U-shaped lever. This connecting base part 44 provides an abutment surface whereby the lever can be operated by means of the plunger 38. The arms and base part can be made from a single piece of material. The plunger 38 is mounted for reciprocation at right angles to the axis of the battery casing and the lamp retaining spring opening by means of a block 45 which is attached to the exterior of the battery case by a bolt 46 which is threaded into the side of the tubular member 17. Thus the bolt 46 not only serves to hold the block 45 to the battery case, but also provides additional means for holding the tubular member 17 in the battery case. The plunger is provided with an enlarged cylindrical inner end 47 which slides within a bore 48 of the block. The outer end of the plunger is provided with a button 49 accessible from the exterior. A spring 50 surrounds the shaft of the plunger and is interposed within the large inner end 47 and the bottom of the bore. The spring thus tends to push the plunger inwardly and into engagement with the lever 37 and through the lever applies a yieldable upward force on the cup-shaped closure member 23.

When the lamp is not in the socket, the cup-shaped member will be pushed upwardly to the fullest extent, as permitted by the inward movement of the plunger to a point where the button 49 engages with the block 45. Under these conditions the spring 50 maintains pressure on the ejecting lever and prevents rattling. When a lamp is inserted into the holding coil spring, the contact 25 carried by the cup-shaped member will be engaged by the base terminal of the lamp when the base of the lamp is partially received by the spring. As the lamp is con tinued to be pressed into the holding coil spring, the base will push the cup-shaped member 23 downwardly and thus push the button of the plunger 48 outwardly to the position shown in Figure 2. The spring 50, however, will continue to act on the plunger and through the plunger and lever insure that the contact 25 will be yieldably held against the bottom terminal of the lamp base. The extent of inward or downward movement of the lamp is limited by the extent of telescoping of the tubular rod 24 on the post 24. To insure that a good electrical contact is always present between the rod and post, a spring finger 51 is employed to bias the tubular rod 24 to one side of the post. This finger also acts as an auxiliary conductor member to the contact.

To eject the lamp, all that is required is to press the plunger 49 inwardly. The force applied at the plunger will then be transferred from the plunger to the lever and due to the particular pivoting of the lever, the extending arms 39 and 40 will be moved upwardly, thereby moving the cup-shaped member 23 upwardly and pushing the lamp base outwardly in an axial or longitudinal direction from within the annularly arranged coil spring. The upward movement of the lamp will be sufficient so as to bring the lower end of the lamp part base up to the upper end of the holding coil spring. If the button is operated slowly, the lamp may not be fully ejected if very firmly gripped, but it will take a position where the holding spring has just a slight grip on the lamp base end. The lamp can then be easily lifted out. If it is desired to pop the lamp out, a quick movement of the plunger 49 inwardly will accomplish this since then there will be sutficient force on the base of the lamp to move the base completely free of all gripping action by the holding coil spring. Varied base diameters will have some effect on the manner of ejection.

In connection with the switch button 28 and the ejector plunger 38, it is to be noted that they are arranged to be on diametrically opposite sides of the battery case. Thus the camera operator can grasp the battery case at a point below the button and the ejector plunger and his hand will then be in a position to perform the closing of the switch and also the ejecting of the lamp without shifting his grasp. For example, a thumb can be placed on the ejector button and the index finger on the switch button. When the picture is taken and the lamp flashed by closing the switch with a finger pressure on the switch button, the lamp can then be immediately ejected by pressing the ejector plunger with the thumb.

The battery case is arranged to be connected to a synchronizer so that the shutter of the camera can be operated in proper-time relation with the flashing of the bulb. A connecting outlet for the synchronizer is shown at 52 and this is placed in the switch mechanism case. The battery case and switch mechanism case can also be provided with other outlets such as 53 to which additional flash lamps can be connected as desired, it the photographer wants more than one flash lamp to produce the desired illumination. These outlets are shown in Figures 1 and 2. Also, if desired, an outlet 54 can be provided to which a range finder can be connected. 1Opening in the battery case permits access to the outets.

Although I have shown a particular structure in which my invention is embodied, it is to be understood that changes can be made without departing from the fundamental principles of the invention. Other uses of the holding and ejecting means, besides for photo-flash lamps, are believed to be apparent. Therefore, it is not intended that the scope of the invention be limited in any manner except as set forth in the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. In combination with a battery case provided at one end with a socket having retaining means for yieldably holding the base of a photo-flash lamp but permitting its removal by an axial movement, of manual ejecting means for the lamp comprising a plunger mounted on the side of the case for movement at right angles to the axis of the socket, and a lever so constructed and pivotally mounted within the case that an inward movement of plunger Will result in a force being transferred from the plunger to the lamp base in such axial direction of the socket as to eject the lamp by manual force.

2. In combination with a lamp holding socket provided with means for yieldably retaining the lamp base therein but permitting the lamp to be removed by an axial movement out of the socket, of manual ejecting means for the lamp comprising a plunger mounted for movement on an axis at right angles to the socket axis, and means for producing an axial manual force on the lamp base from manual axial movement of the plunger to thereby eject the lamp from the yieldable holding means of the socket, said force producing means comprising a lever having a part engageable by the plunger and said lever having another part extending to a position beneath the socket with the pivot of the lever so positioned that when the plunger is moved inwardly the extending part will be moved toward the outer end of the socket.

3. In combination with a casing having a lamp socket provided with means for yieldably retaining a lamp base therein but permitting its removal by a force acting in an axial direction of the socket, of manual ejecting means for the lamp comprising a member at the bottom of the socket mounted for longitudinal movement and having an electrical contact for the lamp base when positioned in the socket, a manually operated plunger mounted for movement on an axis at right angles to the socket axis, a pivoted lever for transferring force from the plunger to the member to thereby cause the member to apply an axial ejecting manual force to the lamp, and spring means acting on the plunger and through the lever to the member to normally yieldably hold the member in engagement with the lamp base when retained in the soc et.

4. In photo-flash equipment, a cylindrical battery case open at one end, means mounted totally in said open end for providing a holding socket for a flash lamp base having its axis coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the case and comprising a resilient means for yieldably gripping the base and permitting removal of the lamp by an axial force, means providing an axially movable contact member for engagement by the lamp base, switch mechanism mounted inwardly of the contact member for electrically connecting, at will, a battery in the case with the contact member, means including a manually operable plunger and a pivoted lever for applying the manual force axially to the contact member to move it and thereby manually eject the lamp from the holding socket, said plunger being mounted in the side of the case for movement inwardly at right angles to the axis of the case and operable from the exterior thereof, and spring means acting on the plunger to bias it inwardly and through the lever normally yieldably maintain the contact member in an outer position of its movement when no lamp is mounted in the socket.

5. In a socket structure for holding a threaded lamp base, a cylindrical support having at its open end an inturned flange to form a shoulder and an outwardly flared part extending from the inner end of the flange, means establishing shoulder means spaced inwardly of the flange, an annular single coiled spring positioned totally in the cylindrical support around the wall thereof and between the flange and the shoulder means with its ends normally engaging said flange and shoulder means, and an electrical contact member yieldably mounted in a position inwardly of the inner end of the coiled spring, the loops forming the coils for the spring being capable of circumferentially engaging the threads and having straight sides of such length as to contact the major portion of the length of the threads on the base when the lamp is inserted.

6. In a socket structure for holding a lamp base, a cylindrical support having at its open end an inturned flange to form a shoulder and an outwardly flared part extending from the inner end of the flange, means establishing shoulder means spaced inwardly of the flange, and an annular single coiled spring positioned in the cylindrical support around the wall thereof and between the flange and the shoulder means, the coils of the spring having straight parallel sides of considerable length to grip a major portion of the length of the lamp base and the ends thereof normally engaging the flange and the shoulder means so that axial movement of the spring is prevented.

7. In a photo-flash equipment, a substantially cylindrical battery case open at one end, means mounted in said open end for providing a holding socket for a flash lamp base having its axis substantially coinciding with the longitudinal axis of the case and comprising a resilient means for yieldably gripping the base and permitting removal of the lamp by an axial force, means providing an axially movable contact member for engagement by the lamp base, switch mechanism mounted inwardly of the contact member for electrically connecting, at will, a battery in the case with the contact member, and ejecting means for the lamp comprising a plunger mounted in the side of the case for movement at substantially a right angle to the axis of the case and socket, said last named means including means associated with the plunger operable upon movement of the plunger in one direction for applying an axial force on the contact member to move it outwardly and thereby eject the lamp from the holding socket.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 668,887 Spies Feb. 26, 1901 2,160,440 Pearson et al. May 30, 1939 2,269,135 Tate Jan. 6, 1942 2,343,552 Hollister et al. Mar. 7, 1944 2,384,327 Mendelsohn Sept. 4, 1945 2,443,743 McNabb June 22, 1948 2,596,887 Brundage May 13, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 186,526 Great Britain Oct. 15, 1922 685,738 Germany Nov. 30, 1939 936,649 France Feb. 23, 1948 

